Top Marine General: Troops Aren’t Getting New Gear Fast Enough

Marines’ worn-out equipment is not being replaced quickly eDefnough, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller said Monday, calling the Pentagon’s process for fielding new gear “too slow.”

New technology takes so long to test and evaluate that it can be obsolete by the time it actually hits the fleet, Neller said at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space exposition outside Washington, D.C.

“As a customer, it just seems to be too slow,” Neller said. “There may be good reasons for that, but we’ve got to go faster because we’re behind in many areas and we’ve got to get this new stuff in the hands of those that we have an obligation to support and make sure that they’re successful in whatever mission we give them.”